An article from The American Surveyor that discusses the candidates for the world’s oldest map — and, interestingly, the criteria involved: what makes a map a map and not a painting, for example. The Soleto Map and the Papyrus of Artemidorus, which we’ve encountered before, are in the running; wall and cave paintings and tablets from Turkey, China and Iraq are also in the running.

Previously: The Western World’s Oldest Map; The Other World’s Oldest Map; Is the Soleto Map a Forgery?